The government newspapers, headed by the sycophantic *Novoe Vremya*,{15} are lavishing praise on our government for the magnificent results of state finances. Just imagine: 450 million rubles of "free cash on hand"! Money flowing *into* the treasury instead of *out of* it — that's how, you see, *we* manage the state.

And *Novoe Vremya*, the newspaper of the Black Hundreds landowners and Octobrist merchants, arrives at the conclusion that there is absolutely nothing to fear about waging war with such a reserve of 450 million rubles.

Let us look, however, at the explanatory memorandum of the Minister of Finance accompanying the budget for 1913; — cannot we find in it, apart from self-congratulation (and there is plenty of that in the memorandum!), precise data on the origin of this notorious "free cash on hand"?

We open the explanatory memorandum of the Minister and read in it (page 15, part I) that over the five-year period 1908–1912, loans provided the treasury 339½ million rubles. Loans redeemed during this same period amounted to 252.1 million rubles.

This means that loans increased, on the whole, by 87.4 million rubles. There you have the first "source" of "free cash on hand." A simple source, as you see.

But let us proceed further. It is well known that from October 1, 1908, the price of state-distilled vodka was raised to maximum levels, namely from 8 rubles to 8 rubles 40 kopecks per pail (ordinary, and for table vodka up to 12 rubles).

As a result of this "financial measure," the average price of state vodka over the five-year period 1908–1912 was 8 rubles 48 kopecks per pail, that is, exactly 42 kopecks more expensive than in the previous four-year period (1904–1907: 8 rubles 6 kopecks per pail).

In total, the treasury sold over 5 years (1908–1912) — 440½ million pails of forty-degree rotgut. The increase in profit of 42 kopecks per pail yielded 755 million rubles.

There you have the second source of "free cash on hand"!

The third source, state railways, yielded "net profit" for 4 years (1908–1911) — 53 million rubles, if we do not count interest payments and amortization on the capital expended by the treasury, amounting to 2¼ billion rubles!! Let us take for 1912 this "profit" at the level of 1911, that is, at 105 million rubles. We obtain for the entire five-year period "profits" of 755 million rubles. It is clear what kind of state "management" this is, when billion-ruble expenditures simply "do not count" interest and amortization — it resembles state conjuring more than anything. Let us note that not some "leftist journalist" (God forbid!), but the State Control itself determined the interest and amortization on railway capital expended by the treasury at 397.6 million rubles for 4 years (1908–1911). For the entire five-year period, 1908–1912, this amounts to 500 million rubles!{16} This is an example of predatory management.

We sum up the three sources of "free cash on hand":

Is that not enough? There is no need to list the more minor "sources."

Is it not clear that our serf-owning landowners are the greatest financial geniuses? To borrow money, raise the price of rotgut, simply "not count" interest and amortization on billions expended (on "management") — is this not genius?

Is this not proof of the "stability" of our budget?

*Pravda* No. 62, March 15, 1913. Signature: V.

Printed according to the text of the newspaper *Pravda*